Vehicle fascia assembly including a mounting member for deflectably attaching a lamp

Abstract

A vehicle fascia assembly includes a main body portion adapted to be interconnected to a frame of a motor vehicle and a horizontally elongated lamp having an inboard end and an outboard end. The lamp, which in one embodiment is a sidemarker lamp, is normally retained in an operative position within an opening in the main body portion of the fascia assembly and is permitted to move relative to the main body portion during an impact to accommodate elastic deformation of the main body portion. In the preferred embodiment, an inboard end of the lamp is interconnected to the main body portion of the fascia assembly through a resiliently deflectable mounting member. The mounting member is preferably constructed of spring steel.

We claim: 
     
       1. A fascia assembly for a motor vehicle having a frame, the fascia assembly comprising: a main body portion adapted to be interconnected to the frame, said main body portion defining a lamp opening;   a lamp disposed with said lamp opening and having a first end and a second end, said second end of said lamp fixedly attached to said main body portion; and   a mounting member including a fixed end attached to said lamp and a free end biasing said lamp against a front surface of said main body portion.   
     
     
       2. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 1, wherein said mounting member is an elastically deformable mounting member. 
     
     
       3. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 1, wherein said free end abuts a rear surface of said main body portion. 
     
     
       4. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 3, wherein said main body portion includes a first mounting flange and a second mounting flange, said second end of said lamp fixedly attached to said second mounting flange. 
     
     
       5. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 4, wherein said mounting member abuts said first mounting flange. 
     
     
       6. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 1, wherein said mounting member is operative to permit said first end of said lamp to outwardly deflect relative to said main body portion in response to elastic deformation of said main body portion. 
     
     
       7. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 1, wherein said mounting member is unitarily constructed of spring steel. 
     
     
       8. A fascia assembly for a motor vehicle having a frame, the fascia assembly comprising: a main body portion adapted to be interconnected to the frame, the main body portion defining an elongated opening and including first and second mounting flanges;   a sidemarker lamp having an inboard end and an outboard end, said sidemarker lamp operatively disposed within said elongated opening, said outboard end being fixedly attached to said second mounting flange; and   a mounting member interconnecting said lamp and said first mounting flange such that said lamp is normally retained in an operative position and further such that said inboard end is permitted to move relative to said main body portion during an impact to accommodate elastic deformation of said main body portion.   
     
     
       9. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 8, wherein said mounting member is elastically deformable. 
     
     
       10. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 8, wherein said mounting member includes a first end fixedly attached to said sidemarker lamp and a second end resiliently engaging said first mounting flange. 
     
     
       11. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 8, wherein said second end includes a pair of spaced apart legs. 
     
     
       12. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 11, wherein said first end includes a first aperture through which a threaded fastener passes and engages said sidemarker lamp and a second aperture, said sidemarker lamp including a post inserted into said second aperture to prevent rotation of said mounting member relative to said inboard end. 
     
     
       13. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 8, wherein said mounting member is operative to permit outward deflection of said inboard end of said sidemarker lamp in response to elastic deformation of said main body portion. 
     
     
       14. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 8, wherein said mounting member is unitarily constructed of spring steel. 
     
     
       15. A fascia assembly for a motor vehicle having a frame, the fascia assembly comprising: a main body portion adapted to be interconnected to the frame and defining an elongated opening and including first and second mounting flanges;   a park/turn lamp disposed within said elongated opening, said park/turn lamp being secured to said first mounting flange;   a sidemarker lamp disposed within said elongated opening on an outboard side of said park/turn lamp, said sidemarker lamp fixedly attached to one of said first and second mounting flanges; and   a mounting member interconnecting said sidemarker lamp and said other of said first and second mounting flanges such that said mounting member normally retains said sidemarker lamp in an operative position and permits said sidemarker lamp to move relative to said other of said first and second mounting flanges in response to an impact causing elastic deformation of said main body portion.   
     
     
       16. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 15, wherein said mounting member is elastically deformable. 
     
     
       17. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 16, wherein said mounting member includes a first end rigidly attached to said sidemarker lamp and a second end deflectably engaging said other of said first and second mounting flanges. 
     
     
       18. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 17, wherein said mounting member interconnects an inboard end of said sidemarker lamp with said first mounting flange. 
     
     
       19. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 18, wherein said second end of said mounting member includes a pair of spaced apart legs. 
     
     
       20. The fascia assembly for a motor vehicle of claim 15, wherein said mounting member is unitarily constructed of spring steel.